14 Mar 2014 07:00
Venn Life Sciences Holdings Plc
("Venn" or the "Company")
Placing to raise £1 million
& Notice of general meeting
Venn Life Sciences (AIM: VENN), a growing Clinical Research Organisation (CRO) providing clinical trial management and resourcing solutions to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device clients, announces that the Company has today conditionally placed 5,263,158 new ordinary shares, through Zeus Capital as broker to the Company, at a placing price of 19p per ordinary share (the "Placing Shares") with investors to raise £1 million before expenses (the "Placing").
Placing
The Placing requires the Company to obtain additional authorities to allot and is therefore conditional on requisite shareholder approval being obtained as well as admission of those Placing Shares to trading on AIM.
A general meeting of shareholders of the Company is to be convened for 31 March 2014 and, assuming the relevant resolutions are passed and the Placing has otherwise become unconditional, completion of the Placing is expected to take place on 2 April 2014. A circular to shareholders convening the requisite general meeting is expected to be posted later today. Assuming that the requisite shareholder approvals are obtained and Admission occurs, the Company will issue pursuant to the Placing 5,263,158 new ordinary shares in the Company which will represent 19.26 % of the issued share capital as enlarged by the Placing.
The Placing Shares will, when issued, be credited as fully paid and will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing ordinary shares of 0.1 pence each in the capital of the Company then in issue, including the right to receive all dividends and other distributions declared, made or paid in respect of such shares after the date of issue of the Placing Shares.
The Directors intend to use the net proceeds of the Placing to develop the opportunities provided by the recent acquisition of Labskin™ and the SYN1113 intellectual property rights.
Following Admission, the Company's issued share capital will consist of 27,325,735 ordinary shares. There are no ordinary shares held in treasury. Therefore, in accordance with the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rule 5.6.1, the Company confirms that following Admission, the total number of voting rights in the Company will be 27,325,735.
Current Trading
During 2013 the Company invested significantly in business development and the implementation of systems and infrastructure necessary to ready the business for larger bids. This investment has been expensed during 2013 with a consequential impact on the performance of the business, given the operational gearing of the business. The Board expects to see the benefits of this investment flowing in 2014 and notes in the last three months a significant shift in the scale of business proposals, from single country local business to multi-centred full service studies. The recent acquisitions in Germany and Northern Ireland have further improved the Company's ability to present a credible international service offering. Venn is now moving from a period of investment, including the retention of underutilised resources in anticipation of new business, to a point of maximum utilisation of available resources and now needs to hire in order to meet increased client requirements. This is a positive shift that the Board expects will continue through 2014. The Board expects to release full year results for 2013 on 16 May 2014.
General meeting to increase share authorities
A general meeting of the Company is to be held at 11.00am on 31 March 2014 at 23 Berkeley Square, London W1J 6HE to consider and, if thought fit, pass the resolutions, in connection with the Placing and otherwise, set out in the Notice of General Meeting in the circular to shareholders.
Commenting on the Placing, Tony Richardson, CEO of Venn, said: "We have a great opportunity in the area of skin care and dermatology following the acquisition of Labskin™ and the anti-acne compound SYN1113. The additional funding is essential for us to quickly take advantage of this opportunity and to respond to a growing customer demand for these products. We are grateful for the support of our investors and these funds will allow us to move quickly and establish long term sustainable revenues in this area."
Enquiries:
Venn Life Sciences Holdings Plc
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Tony Richardson, Chief Executive Officer | Tel: +353 154 99 341 | |
Paul Foulger, Finance Director | Tel: 020 7933 8797 | |
Orla McGuinness, Marketing Manager | Tel: +33 (0)1 30 82 67 07 | |
Zeus Capital (Nominated Adviser and Broker) | ||
Ross Andrews/Andrew Jones (Corporate Finance) | Tel: 0161 831 1512 | |
John Goold/ Alex Davies/ Dominic Wilson (Institutional Sales) | Tel: 0207 533 7727 | |
Walbrook PR Ltd | Tel: 020 7933 8787 or venn@walbrookpr.com | |
Paul McManus | Mob: 07980 541 893 | |
Lianne Cawthorne | Mob: 07584 391 303 | |
Additional Information:
About Venn Life Sciences Limited: www.vennlifesciences.com
Venn Life Sciences is a Clinical Research Organisation ("CRO") providing a suite of clinical trial management services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device organisations. With operations in France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Russia, the UK, and a branch office in Switzerland, the Venn Group also includes a Clinical Resourcing business placing experienced clinical teams and individuals on projects throughout Europe. The company's near term objectives are the expansion of its CRO business throughout Europe, whilst enhancing the portfolio of their innovative technologies division, InnoVenn, with ground breaking new products and services.